E1336 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks July 26, 2012 

that focused on economic development and 

crime reduction, while also advocating for the 

development of community centers and parks. 

In 1971, Mr. White founded the Willard Housing Organization, one of the first groups in 

Minneapolis that sought government loans to 

repair and rehabilitate the impoverished areas 

of Minneapolis. 

His passion, combined with experience he 

gained as a community activist, led Mr. White 

to enter the political arena, where he became 

the first African American elected to the city 

council of Minneapolis in 1979. During the ten 

years Mr. White served on the Minneapolis 

City Council where he was the chair of the 

Government Operations Committee and Vice 

Chair of the Minneapolis Community Development Agency. 

Mr. White continued to support his community until he passed away on July 14, 1993. 

Mr. White is survived by his wife of nearly 

forty years, Mrs. Javanese White, their daughter Javoni, son Perri and granddaughter 

Kapria. 

Mr. White dedicated over fifty years of his 

life to community activism. He served on the 

board of nearly thirty economic and community development programs, and left behind a 

legacy of uplifting his community. Throughout 

his life, Mr. White was viewed as a connector, 

someone who could take ideas to improve the 

communities of Minneapolis and put those 

ideas into action. It is only fitting today the 

Van White Memorial Bridge connects North 

Minneapolis to downtown Minneapolis in his 

honor. I urge the citizens of the United States 

to follow in the steps of Van White, and find 

ways to serve and improve their own communities. 

I truly appreciate everything Mr. White did 

for Minneapolis, and I thank him and his family 

for their dedication and service. 

f 

HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS 

OF DORA FINLEY 

HON. JO BONNER OF ALABAMA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, July 26, 2012 

Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay 

tribute to the contributions of Mrs. Dora Finley, 

a native of Mobile, Alabama, who recently 

passed away at the age of 59. During her lifetime, Dora Finley inspired Mobile to recognize 

its rich heritage while moving the community 

to remember the vital lessons of the past. 

At an early age, Mrs. Finley demonstrated a 

passion for social issues and an uncommon 

ability to lead. A graduate of Mobile’s Bishop 

Toolen School for Girls in 1970, Mrs. Finley 

created the United Student Action Movement 

while still a high school junior. As head of the 

Movement, she dedicated herself to addressing issues confronting African-American youth. 

Mrs. Finley learned the value of hard work 

in childhood when she helped sell candy in 

the family drugstore. She later taught mathematics at John L. Leflore High School before 

becoming a Loan Officer at Commonwealth 

National Bank. After earning a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration from Spring 

Hill College, she embarked on a 25 year career in Managerial Logistics with Scott Paper 

Company/Kimberly-Clark Corporation. 

Her tenacity to see any job through to completion combined with her dedication to promoting a greater awareness of African-American history in her hometown made her 

uniquely qualified to assume the one role for 

which she is best known—the creator of the 

Mobile African-American Heritage Trail. The 

Heritage Trail’s primary objective is to share 

Mobile’s multicultural legacy from the earliest 

arrival of African-Americans to the end of segregation. Throughout Mobile County there 

have been 40 historic markers established by 

the trail. 

City Councilman William Carroll personally 

credited Mrs. Finley with the creation of the 

Heritage Trail: ‘‘Without Dora, the AfricanAmerican Heritage Trail would have never 

been.’’ 

Finley also assisted in the making of the 

2008 Mobile Mardi Gras documentary ‘‘The 

Order of Myths,’’ produced and directed by 

Margaret Brown. The film highlights the history 

of Mobile’s black and white mystical societies 

and the complex interaction between the two. 

One of her last projects was raising money 

to restore the Cook’s House at Oakleigh Mansion. The Cook’s House is slated to become 

the first house museum in Mobile dedicated to 

the African-American experience, offering a 

historically-accurate accounting of the families 

that once worked at Oakleigh. 

Mr. Speaker, Dora Finley has been described as one of Mobile’s strongest advocates of historic preservation and a tireless 

advocate for equality. Without a doubt, her 

loss is one that is shared by our entire community. 

On behalf of the people of Mobile, I offer my 

heartfelt condolences to her daughter, Nicole; 

her mother, Joycelyn Franklin Finley; brothers 

James and Karlos; sister Joycelyn; and many 

other family and friends. You are all in our 

thoughts and prayers. 

f 

IN HONOR OF DR. I.L. MULLINS, 

SR. 

HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR. OF GEORGIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, July 26, 2012 

Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise 

today to pay tribute to an inspiring community 

leader and beloved Pastor of First Missionary 

Baptist Church, Dr. I.L. Mullins, Sr. Sadly, Dr. 

Mullins passed away on Wednesday, July 18, 

2012. His passing leaves a tremendous void 

in the hearts of his family, friends and the 

Thomasville, Georgia community. 

On Thursday, July 26, 2012, a Musical Memorial Service will be held in honor of Dr. 

Mullins at First Missionary Baptist Church. On 

Friday, July 27, 2012, a funeral service will be 

held at First Baptist Church in Thomasville, 

Georgia. 

Dr. Mullins was born on August 26, 1930, 

and grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He 

served in the United States Air Force during 

the Korean War in the 1950s. 

Over the course of his lifetime, Dr. Mullins 

admirably mastered the balance of his civic responsibilities with his academic accomplishments and religious commitments. After he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in 1957, he went on to obtain 

his Masters of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center & Gammon Theological Seminary in 1960. In 1979, Dr. Mullins 

received his Doctor of Divinity degree from 

Faith College in Birmingham, Alabama. 

A fierce believer in equality and justice for 

all, Dr. Mullins was not only a profound theologian but also a strong civic leader. He 

marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s 

and was instrumental in organizing the local 

Thomasville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 

NAACP. Additionally, Dr. Mullins served effectively as Thomas County Commissioner for 

five-terms that spanned over two decades. 

Ordained as a minister on December 29, 

1957, Dr. Mullins has served as the Pastor of 

the First Missionary Baptist Church since 1961 

and was honored by the church for 50 years 

of dedicated pastoral service last year in a 

Golden Jubilee Extravaganza. 

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that I will always remember about Dr. Mullins is his dedication to helping others and his passion for 

promoting equality and peace among individuals from different walks of life. A man of integrity and high moral values, his understanding, compassion and kindness made him 

a guiding light within the community. 

On a personal note, I have been truly 

blessed by Dr. Mullins’ warm friendship and 

support and I am deeply grateful for his counsel and advice as well as for being a fountain 

of inspiration for me over the last several 

years. His motto was, ‘‘God’s Preachers give 

their hearers fruit, not flowers.’’ Indeed, Dr. 

Mullins gave his congregation and all those 

who have sought his counsel the fruit of the 

Word to satiate and sustain them throughout 

the journey of life. 

Mr. Speaker, my wife Vivian and I, along 

with the almost 700,000 people in the 2nd 

Congressional District of Georgia, would like 

to extend our deepest sympathies to Dr. 

Mullins’ wife the former Josephine Lovejoy 

Ferrell, their children, grandchildren and the 

members of First Missionary Baptist Church 

during this difficult time. May they be consoled 

and comforted by their abiding faith and the 

Holy Spirit in the days, weeks and months 

ahead. 

f 

PERSONAL EXPLANATION 

HON. DONNA F. EDWARDS OF MARYLAND

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, July 26, 2012 

Ms. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, I was absent 

from votes in the House Tuesday afternoon 

(July 24th), due to testifying before the Senate 

Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, 

Civil Rights and Human Rights. Had I been 

present, I would have voted ‘‘no’’ on rollcall 

votes 502 (the motion on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 738) and 503 (H. 

Res. 738, the rule providing for consideration 

of both H.R. 4078 and H.R. 6082). 

f 

2012 OLYMPIC GAMES 

HON. LORETTA SANCHEZ OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, July 26, 2012 

Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. 

Speaker, over two thousand years ago, the 


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